Talented female apprentice joins expanding engineering company

Progressive engineering company Leussink Engineering has recently employed five new apprentices, including a young female school leaver who topped the program.

The 16-year-old Ashlee Camilleri, who recently completed Year 10 at a local high school, started two months ago with Leussink on a four-year apprenticeship as a fitter and turner. Ms Camilleri came through a work experience program run by Leussink in association with schools from the local region.

According to Leussink Director, Mr Jason Leussink, the close association between the Illawarra-based industrial company and many of the region’s local schools is creating full time employment positions for students who have already had exposure to the industry.

Youths get the opportunity to sample hands-on work experience in the engineering world for about 35 weeks in a year. A significant number of Year 10 students in their mid teens are given the opportunity to be on a short term training stint where they can get a practical feel for exactly how a fabricator works with modern technology in an international market.

Leussink selects some of the students from this pool each year, especially those that have showed skill, aptitude and, most importantly, strong interest, and puts them through basic tests wherein they are ranked. Ashlee Camilleri progressed through this process, topping the entire year in the test.

Leussink has a strong presence in the mining and general engineering sector due to its ability to take on difficult fabrication concepts from design to completion, and to refurbish large scale equipment, which would otherwise be decommissioned.

The company is also growing its reputation through the supply of its customised demmeler work tables, which are finding uses right across the manufacturing and assembly sectors.

Leussink Engineering will continue its work experience association with local high schools with a view to bringing on more apprentices every year.

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